Tag: mercedes
Mercedes Locks Better EV Engine Performance Behind Annoying Subscription Paywalls
It’s not really clear that regulators have any interest in cracking down on charging dumb people extra for something they already owned and paid for. After all, ripping off gullible consumers is effectively now considered little more than creative marketing by a notable segment of government “leaders” (see: regulatory apathy over misleading hidden fees in everything from hotels to cable TV).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Now you can pay a monthly fee to un-nerf your electric Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz has new finalized pricing on its vexing “Acceleration Increase” subscription revealed last year that can eke out more electric performance — without any physical modification — from the automaker’s current EQE and EQS EV models, Car and Driver reports.
The updated Acceleration Increase pricing starts at $60 per month, or you can save about $120 and pay $600 per year instead. That pricing only applies to the AWD EQE 350 sedan and its SUV counterpart. Meanwhile, the pricier AWD EQS 450 car and SUV command a higher $90 per month (or $900 per year) rate for their own boost.
Mercedes-Benz had initially set the subscription at $1,200 per year, but now it’s been reduced a bit to a slightly-less-unreasonable rate. The automaker is…
Mercedes EQE SUV first drive: Big luxury in a smaller SUV
Mercedes has a very clear plan. Its EQ lineup will continue to grow as it works towards parity with its gas vehicles, and the automaker will eventually transform its consumer cars to those running on electrons. The latest part of that scheme is the EQE SUV, the larger, taller version of the EQE sedan. Both are eco-friendly cousins to the E-Class and both bring what we like (and don’t like) about the EQS to a broader audience.
Starting at $77,900, the EQE SUV won’t wow you if you’ve been behind the wheel of literally any other Mercedes EV. Instead, the mid-seized luxury EV is a piece of a larger puzzle. That’s not to say that the vehicle doesn’t deliver on the Mercedes-Benz promise of a luxury vehicle. It does this without the buyer having to break the $100,000 mark for an electric SUV.
It has a comfortable cabin, smooth ride, tight but agreeable steering and of course the MBUX infotainment system with in-car voice control that actually works. All three trim levels have ranges above 250 miles and rear-wheel steering is an option that’s definitely worth the money. That said, we’re still not fans of the brakes and to us, the Hyperscreen still feels like a lot of hype although we were able to watch a movie while riding shotgun through Portugal on the passenger screen. For more insight into our first drive of the 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, check out the video below.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mercedes-eqe-suv-first-drive-big-luxury-in-a-smaller-suv-220134605.html?src=rss
The Crown sparks row over replica of mangled Mercedes which carried late princess
Mercedes partners with Google to bring Maps and YouTube into its vehicles
Mercedes-Benz and Google have struck a long-term partnership designed to give the German automaker control over its IP and marketplace while offering drivers navigation, maps and YouTube provided by the tech giant. It’s an unusual deal that attempts to strike a Goldilocks-type balance between offering the Google services consumers want without ceding control over the […]
Mercedes partners with Google to bring Maps and YouTube into its vehicles by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch
Mercedes is the first certified Level-3-autonomy car company in the US
At CES earlier this January, Mercedes announced that it would become the first car company to achieve certification from the SAE for a Level 3 driver assist system. That became official on Thursday when the automaker confirmed its Drive Pilot ADAS (automated driver assist system) now complies with the requirements of Nevada Chapter 482A, which governs the use of autonomous vehicle technology on the state’s roads. That makes Drive Pilot the only legal Level 3 system in the US for the moment.
“An unwavering commitment to innovation has consistently guided Mercedes-Benz from the very beginning,” Dimitris Psillakis, President and CEO of MBUSA, said in Thursday’s press statement. “It is a very proud moment for everyone to continue this leadership and celebrate this monumental achievement as the first automotive company to be certified for Level 3 conditionally automated driving in the US market.”
Level 3 capabilities, as defined by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), would enable the vehicle to handle “all aspects of the driving” when engaged but still need the driver attentive enough to promptly take control if necessary. That’s a big step up from the Level 2 systems we see today such as Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving,” Ford’s Blue Cruise, and GM’s Super Cruise. All of those are essentially extra-capable highway cruise controls where the driver must maintain their attention on driving, typically keeping their hands on or at least near the wheel, and be responsible for what the ADAS is doing while it’s doing it. That’s a far cry from the Knight Rider-esque ADAS outlook Tesla is selling and what Level 2 autonomy is actually capable of.
Mercedes’ Drive Pilot system can, “on suitable freeway sections and where there is high traffic density,” according to the company, take over the bumper-to-bumper crawling duties up to 40 MPH without the driver needing to keep their hands on the wheel. When engaged, the system handles lane-keeping duties, stays with the flow of traffic, navigates to destinations programmed into the Nav system, and will even react to “unexpected traffic situations and handles them independently, e.g. by evasive maneuvers within the lane or by braking maneuvers.”
To perform these feats, the Drive Pilot system relies on a suite of sensors embedded throughout the vehicle including visual cameras, LiDAR arrays, radar and ultrasound sensors, and audio mics to keep an ear out for approaching emergency vehicles. The system even compares its onboard sensor data with what it is receiving from its GPS to ensure it knows exactly where on the road it actually is.
Drive Pilot is only available on the 2024 S-Class and EQS Sedan for now. Those are already in production and the first cars should reach the Vegas strip in the second half of this year.
Mercedes will reportedly drop the EQ brand to prepare for an all-electric future
Don’t worry if Mercedes’ insistence on EQ branding for electric cars seems arbitrary — the naming scheme might not last much longer. Sources speaking to the German daily Handelsblatt claim Mercedes will drop the EQ brand as soon as late 2024, when it’s expected to debut its next wave of compact cars. Simply put, the company won’t have much use for the label when more and more of its cars will be electric.
Mercedes first used the EQ name on production cars with 2019’s EQC SUV. Since then, the company has applied the branding to both electrified versions of conventional designs like the EQB as well as unique models like the EQS SUV. Concept cars like the long-range EQXX have similarly stuck to the nomenclature.
In a statement to Reuters, a Mercedes spokesperson said it was “too early” to divulge plans. However, the representative said the automaker would “adapt” the use of the EQ brand as it transitioned to an all-EV lineup by 2030. The identification still plays a key role in the company’s current electric vehicle strategy, the spokesperson added.
If the report is true, the rethink won’t come as a surprise. While car manufacturers have frequently used names to highlight electric powerplants, such as the Chevy Bolt and Ford Mustang Mach-E, they’re starting to rely on more traditional monikers as EVs become more commonplace. Chevy’s upcoming electric Blazer is one example. EVs will eventually become the default, and companies won’t get to use the presence of an electric motor as a selling point.
Researchers find serious vulnerabilities in cars and emergency vehicles, including BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Nissan, more
The EQS SUV is the height of Mercedes EV luxury
Mercedes isn’t tip-toeing into electrification. The automaker put together an aggressive plan and it shows no sign of slowing down. That’s why every few months it seems like there’s another Mercedes-Benz EV being announced.
In all this removal of gas-powered engines, Mercedes still needs to make sure to build vehicles that exude the luxury customers have come to expect from the automaker. It started with the EQS as the electric version of the S-Class sedan and followed that up with the EQS SUV. A taller vehicle with more headroom, off-road capabilities and the number one feature wanted by the US market: it’s an SUV.
While the parity of tech features between the EQS and EQS SUV is impressive, the one thing that S-Class owners moving to an electric luxury vehicle will notice is the increased headroom in the EQS SUV. There’s also the design, which looks better on the SUV, and if you opt for all-wheel-drive the off-roading capabilities are there for when the second home happens to be up a dirt road.
Still, we put the EQS SUV to the test and found that overall it’s an impressive entry into the luxury EV SUV market, even with its weird regenerative brake pedal. Watch the video below for the full story.